Monday, April 2, 2012

B is for Let's BACK Up

I'm definitely still coming up for air after spending two weeks on sensory overload hopping around Asia. It's possible I have a few hundred photos too and I promise not to post them all. I think.

Since I need today to collect the dog from the kennel, catch up on laundry, plan meals, sort mail, prepare bedrooms and bathrooms for daughters coming home for Easter weekend starting tomorrow, and in general get my feet and head on Eastern Standard time I'm going to make today's post short and sweet.

How about we start at the BEGINNING since we're all about the letter B in the A-Z challenge today? The beginning would be our flight from NJ to Shanghai. Hubs had a business class ticket because he was traveling for work but we had to buy my ticket. We decided to pay for the economy seat using air miles and then use one of hubs upgrades to try to get me into business class too. Because he is considerate and also because he knows me very well he'd already said if we couldn't get the upgrade I could have his seat up front. I'm pretty sure he thought he'd enjoy the trip a whole lot more if I started off somewhat rested and happy. Ahem.

My hubs is what might kindly be referred to as 'the squeaky wheel' when it comes to stuff like this and he'd been phoning the airline on a regular basis since January. They kept telling him wait wait wait and while he's good at many things waiting is not one of them. At some point they told him he could call 24 hours before departure time and see if the seat upgrade went through. The second the clock hit the 24 hour mark he was all over it. The first person he spoke to said she couldn't do anything about it and he'd have to wait until we got to the airport, but that's what amateurs do. He promptly hung up, called back, spoke to a different agent and voila I'm in. Yay hubs!

We were not seated on the same side of the plane so our plan was to put our stuff on my side and then I would ask whoever sat beside me if they'd mind moving over to hubs seat. I mean they were both business class seats on the aisle so no biggie right? Pretty soon a guy comes in and starts dropping all his stuff in the seat beside me and I'm so concerned with swapping seats I don't really look at him but I do grab his arm because I'm very focused on getting those seats swapped. I start blabbering on and on about how my hubs is on the other side of the plane and then I continue to spew out way more backstory than is necessary but we'll just chalk that up to nervous energy, okay?

I know.You're wishing you could travel with me too, aren't you?

I happen to glance over at hubs on the other side of the plane and he's laughing and mouths some words at me but I ignore him because I need to get this random stranger to move. That's when I notice the random stranger has a person with him holding his coat and helping him settle in. And then I actually look hard at his face and I realize that hubs was trying to tell me random stranger is none other than Steve Forbes.

Billionaire.There's a b word for you.

Of course I launch promptly into apology mode and I think I might have released his arm or maybe I squeezed it tighter so he'd know I was truly sorry. He was gracious and moved across the plane to where hubs was standing. Hubs said something to him which he told me was thank you very much but I suspect was more along the lines of 'my wife is nuts'. Whatever. I think it could have been fun to sit next to Steve Forbes. We could have talked politics and such on our 14+ hour flight. Course I would have climbed over his chair four times to get out and stretch and go to the restroom. And he'd probably have a headache when we landed.

Oh Joyce, you totally crack me up! Back in my flying days, I had a few moments like that, but that is when I met people like Davy Jones, Peter Frampton and Red Auerbach. Steve Forbes, I'd know.I'd travel with you any day!

Love this... Readit out loud to my husband and we both had a good laugh! It is so something I would have done... Makes me feel better that I am not the only person in the world who does these kinds of things.

I laughed out loud at this one! You were very smart to get business class seats. That flight back in the "cattle pen" is no fun. I've done both. Hubby once gave up his business class seat for me as well. Pretty sure the squeaky wheel has something to do with it. ;)

Yeah "B" is for Billionaire. Oh gosh. What's more interesting? Your husband sitting in the seat assigned to Steve Forbes or the knowledge that Steve Forbes, billionaire, flies commercial? You were certainly off to a rip-roaring start. :)

I think, had I recognized Steve Forbes, I might have debated just a moment or two about whether or not I wanted him to swap seats after all. : ) and yes, I do think it would be very fun to travel with you!